Evening wear in SL is a big deal. Lots of women and men want to come into SL and live out their fantasy and dream of being wealthy, well-dressed, and elegant. Mami Jewell understands this too well and caters to the well-dressed set with her beautifully textured dresses.

Mami’s offerings at Azul range from the drop dead sexy to elegant to dramatic. She has mastered the high-cut leg to perfection, making elegant sexy with a mere slit up the fabric of the skirt.

Mami has also mastered the prim, using sculpties and flexis with ease, allowing her design to dictate the prims rather than the reverse. Her texturing is unparalleled with shadows running over the prims and into the system pieces seamlessly, creating the perfect fantasy of beautiful couture.

Mami has generously contributed to Fashion for Life in the past with her designs. This year she has continued her generosity with a VIP Sponsorship. She knows the money she has donated and the money from her donated creations goes 100% to the American Cancer Society.

See what Mami is offering this year at the Fashion for Life, March 12-22, SL’s biggest fashion fair on 9 sims hosted by the American Cancer Society and SL’s Relay for Life.

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Hair: .:EMO-tions:. * WINDBLOWN* /naturals by Mirja Mills for .:EMO-tions:., VIP Sponsor for Fashion for Life and FFL Store Sponsor

Tucked away on sims you may not visited are entire untapped cultures with their own manners and mores, language and fashion. The Land of Gor is one such place (along with the Underground Neko Empire and Fashionista Fantasyland). In Gor, men wear tunics and abas, women wear kirtles and camisks, veils and robes. Gutterpup is a conveyor of fine Gorean fashion for women and has pieces for all types of women.

This is not to say that Etalena Lane’s work is not accessible to others. Take for example, this beautiful dress with its subtle golden print and beautifully ruched bodice. Gorgeously rendered, this could take a woman out of Gor to any classy ballroom once the modesty undershirt is removed (as I have done).

Of course, Gor has dancers and dancers have to dress in a manner that is revealing. Gutterpup has a lot that will appeal to those that want to look sexy and show a bit of their expensive skin. Etalena’s textures are rich and enticing, mostly in the earthtones that show a life of living off the land.

Etalena once in a while pulls out a trick with something a little more contemporary, like this cute mini with tights. She also makes lots of camisks that could double as sexy tops or swimsuits, as I show below.

Etalena asked to be a VIP Sponsor as well as a Store Sponsor for Fashion for Life because she knew how important the work of the American Cancer Society is for people’s health around the world. She also knew she would reach a much wider audience by being in Fashion for Life. She wants you to see her great work—come to Fashion for Life!

Etalena will be one of the many designers at the Fashion for Life, March 12-22, SL’s biggest fashion fair on 9 sims hosted by the American Cancer Society and SL’s Relay for Life.

The underlying industry in SL is RP. It seems everyone has an alt that dips into a little role playing when the first second life is boring or some fantasy playtime is needed. It really defeats the purpose of RP if you can’t dress up from head to toe; it seems proper costuming is essential for good RP. Mirja Mills started her business catering to the RP class with wonderfully textured kilts and accessories. She expanded it to hair and pursued hair as her main product with beautifully drawn and constructed outfits as a secondary offering.

Mirja is participating in Fashion for Life for the first time this year. Though she is from Germany, she appreciates the efforts of the American Cancer Society around the world and accordingly, she has upped her sponsorship to VIP level in order to put her support behind RFL. In addition, she has also made new content—amazing content. These two dresses will be offered with hair and boots as a full outfit with all proceeds going to the American Cancer Society. Mirja said she saw an outfit in a photo and was instantly inspired. From the roses along the neckline to the posture collar and corset, Mirja piles joy upon joy. The fabrics in the skirt in their melange of textures is pure art. Mirja’s considerable talent shines through with these offerings—considerably different than we think about her work, perhaps, with their lightness and joy.

This darker dress will also be offered with the hair base and hair. Mirja knows how to make mystery and sexy collide in a most perfect gothic representation. From the sweet buns with their little tendrils hanging down to the sexy translucency of the top to the rich abundance of the skirt, this outfit will suit those of you who want a darker look.

The core of Mirja’s talent is in her unique textures and wild styles (appropriate for RP). If you want long, she has long but she also has absurdly long, which suits the fantasy of RP avatars. She has long but it’s long wild with wisps floating around as they would on a woman or man who has been engaged in heavy-duty action. She has recently worked on her hair textures and has come out with a set of curly styles that are really exciting.

Mirja will be one of the many designers at the Fashion for Life, March 12-22, SL’s biggest fashion fair on 9 sims hosted by the American Cancer Society and SL’s Relay for Life.

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Skin: I ALEIDA I Inga SUNKISS – make up 7 by Aleida Rhode for Aleida, VIP Sponsor and FFL Store Sponsor

Alieda has been serving up fashion for women across the grid for over three years. Bringing her craft to us from Denmark, Aleida is one of the few designers in SL who can cover an avatar almost from top-to-toe. She will be one of the many designers at the Fashion for Life, March 12-22, SL’s biggest fashion fair on 9 sims hosted by the American Cancer Society and SL’s Relay for Life.

Aleida offers drama and beauty with her work, fashioned from a European sensibility.

Aleida not only offers ballgowns but also skins, cocktail dresses, casual-wear, and shoes. Her shoes are offered in a spectrum of colors—any of which could match any outfit Aleida offers or you own.

This is Aleida’s first year participating in Fashion for Life. Aleida has not only donated for a Store Sponsorship but she also added a larger donation for VIP Sponsorship because she knows her money is going to a good cause in the American Cancer Society.

Make sure you attend the Fashion for Life, March 12-22, SL’s biggest fashion fair on 9 sims hosted by the American Cancer Society and SL’s Relay for Life!

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Hair: [e] Details – Black 04 by Elikapeka Tiramisu for Elikatira, Sim Sponsor for the Bourke White sim at Fashion for Life

Skin: I ALEIDA I Valentina SUNK – make up 4 (no cleav&hb) by Aleida Rhode for Aleida, VIP Sponsor and FFL Store Sponsor

While our mission for Fashion for Life is to have fun and help raise funds for the American Cancer Society, for some of our participants, it’s a much more personal event.

Kouse Singh has always participated in Fashion for Life. She offered a statement for the blog so people could understand why she participates. Kouse says:

Every year when what was the Relay for Life Clothing Fair, and what is now Fashion for Life, comes around, I always make time to support this cause, which is dear to me.

In the span of my life, I’ve lost many a family member to cancer, and each time one of those souls passes, the tragedy of it touches those of us who remain with much grief, and sorrow, wishing it could have been beaten.

More than half of my own family members have been diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives, some of these on more than one occasion. My prayer is that through concerted efforts, such as Relay for Life, one day there will be a world without cancer. How much less pain, worry, and fear there would be, without this cruel, indiscriminate disease.

Kouse also offered that cancer is something that touches many people’s lives, around the world. These photos show Kouse’s sneak previews of her dresses and jewelry to be offered at Fashion for Life. The income made from these items will go entirely to the American Cancer Society.

This collection of dresses and jewelry will be offered by Kouse exclusively to benefit Relay for Life. They will be first offered at Fashion for Life.

As with all Kouse’s work, they show off her vision of a beautiful fairy-like world where women are garbed in formal and ethereal attire. Her gowns take inspiration from history and fantasy with richly made textures and prim pieces delicately placed just so to build a beautiful silhouette.

Kouse will also be offering this exquisite set of jewelry complete with bracelets that I do not show and two other smaller crowns tilted left or right so they can be worn with other hair.

It is our pleasure to host so many prolific and talented desigenrs such as Kouse, who are dedicating their craft and labor to raise funds for the American Cancer Society.

Make sure you attend the Fashion for Life, March 12-22, SL’s biggest fashion fair on 9 sims hosted by the American Cancer Society and SL’s Relay for Life!

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Hair: [e] Rumor – Brown 08 by Elikapeka Tiramisu for Elikatira, Sim Sponsor for the Bourke White sim at Fashion for Life

Kimmera Madison is one of the most prolific creators in SL. Between her men’s and women’s lines at Tres Beau, her bridal line, and her RP lines, Kim is putting out content that elevates the standard of beautiful in SL.

Kim is one of the few designers on the grid who can provide a wide range of styles and do all skillfully. She is also uniquely able to combine prims, sculpties and system pieces in ways that are ingenious while maintaining the quality of her textures and the final proportions and vision of the entire ensemble. Shopping at Tres Beau is like shopping at a very high end designer in real life—all the details are attended to, top to bottom.

Kim also understands a woman wants a variety of looks offered and a lot of sex appeal, so her work shows off all a women’s best attributes while managing to get her around the grid from day into night. Kim clearly enjoys fashion and it shows in her vibrant artistry.

Kimmera has participated in Fashion for Life for several years. Last year, one of her beautiful donation dresses was the feature on all the posters and contributed a large amount of money to ACS. This year, Kimmera has furthered her generous giving by becoming a VIP Sponsor. Not only will she have four beautiful creations up for sale with all donations going to the American Cancer Society, but she will also added a generous contribution from her own pocket.

Make sure you attend the Fashion for Life, March 12-22, SL’s biggest fashion fair on 9 sims hosted by the American Cancer Society and SL’s Relay for Life!

Like this:

As you know, I am promoting Fashion for Life. There is actually a lot of thought going on with what we are doing, and today I am highlighting the connection between the names of the sims, the theme and one of the generous sponsors. While it is not fashion, per se, it is a great interest of mine and I think, if nothing else, you will find this an interesting read.

The theme of Fashion for Life this year is “Beyond Black and White.” Instead of doing themes that were based on locales or one monolithic theme, we came upon the idea of making the sims in black and white—like a black and white photo. We felt that this would reinforce how cancer is no longer a black and white diagnosis because of the work of the American Cancer Society. They provide funds, programs and support that takes cancer “beyond black and white.”

We know black and white has been done in SL before but not at this scale and by this list of builders: Syngen Sohmers, Frederick Lancaster, Grace Loudon, Raven Haalan, Eshi Otawara, Nigel Riel, Dream Resistance, and Cierra Anatine. Each builder was given the theme, the requirements, and then were let loose to apply their best work to these tasks. Our sneak peeks have proven we are in great hands. We will be showing you all very soon!

We also decided to name the sims after famous black and white photographers. When Harper was compiling the list, she contacted her friend KK Jewell for confirmation on her choices. KK is the RL editor-in-chief of the architecture journal, arcspace.com, one of the best known blogs about architecture on the web. As KK has advertised, “arcspace is an architecture and design magazine that features today’s most creative projects as well as the most influential of the past.” For years she has been in SL, working with architects and builders and bringing RL art to SL and SL to the architecture world. (Her friend, David Hockney, allowed her to show several of his iPhone paintings in world, for example.)

Two of the photographers in our list were personal friends of KK. Helmut Newton photographed the real life person who drives KK as a model in a set of pieces on a tennis court. The woman in the photos below is the RL KK Jewell (and yes, this has been confirmed and they are shown with her permission) with the art collector Irving Blum (who was the first to show Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup Cans).

Photo by Helmut Newton

Photo by Helmut Newton

Julius Shulman was a friend of KK’s until he passed away in 2009. Noted for his photography of modern architecture, which elevated architecture from buildings to art forms, his black and white photography features the iconic “Case Study House #22.” KK frequently visited Julius in his home in LA, bringing him sandwiches and a small bottle of whiskey. He was gregarious and friendly–very down to earth and happy that he had the opportunity to be a photographer. A lot of architecture in SL owes its inspiration to Shulman’s wonderful work.

Case Study House #22 by Julius Shulman (1960)

The other photographers were also chosen because of their historical significance. Many recognize the name of Richard Avedon because of his amazing black and white portraiture and fashion photography (and also because he is a last name in SL). While Irving Penn has recently had retrospectives at the Getty and the National Gallery in London, most SL’ers probably didn’t get a chance to get there. He is the original “fashion photographer,” making Lisa Fonssagrives a legend. Sadly, he also passed away in 2009.

Nastassja Kinski by Richard Avedon (1981)

"Woman with Roses" by Irving Penn (1951)

Alfred Stieglitz was Georgia O’Keeffe’s life partner and more importantly, a pioneering photographer who promoted art and enjoyed exploring photography as art. As Richard Whelan wrote: “Alfred Stieglitz (1864-1946) is perhaps the most important figure in the history of visual arts in America. That is certainly not to say that he was the greatest artist America has ever produced. Rather, through his many roles – as a photographer, as a discoverer and promoter of photographers and of artists in other media, and as a publisher, patron, and collector – he had a greater impact on American art than any other person has had.”’

"Georgia O'Keeffe's Hand and Wheel" by Alfred Stieglitz (1933)

Margaret Bourke-White’s fame comes from her photo-journalism. An independent and brave woman, her work covered most of the biggest events of the mid-Century including being the first woman correspondent during World War II and being present for the independence movement led by Mahatma Gandhi. Diane Arbus, on the other hand, chose photography as an art form after a successful fashion photography career and became famous for her photographs of interesting people.

Ghandi by Margaret Bourke-White (1951)

"Identical Twins, Roselle, New Jersey, 1967" by Diane Arbus

Ansel Adams was an environmentalist famous for his magnificent photographs of American landscapes and the American West. Robert Mapplethorpe was also a famous American photographer, for his magnificent photographs of nudes and sexuality. Both men photographed in large scale to focus on the beautiful details of their subjects. Patti Smith’s Book, Just Kids, about her relationship with Mapplethorpe, was the winner of the 2010 National Book Award.

"Roots, Foster Gardens, Honolulu, T.H." by Ansel Adams (1948)

"Freeway Interchange, Los Angeles, 1967" by Ansel Adams

"Thomas, 1987" by Robery Mapplethorpe

The sponsors and builders were not assigned to the sims entirely randomly. It made sense to put Eshi Otawara on Mapplethorpe with Falln Angels as it did to put Kmadd on the Newton sim and Elikatira on the Bourke White sim. The builders were not obliged to take inspiration from the sim names, but some have.

KK Jewell, on behalf of arcspace.com, has generously donated at the VIP Sponsorship level because she supports the good works done in SL, especially those done for a charity such as the American Cancer Society. Thank you, KK, for your generosity in knowledge, experience and money.

Sims will be open to the public at 10 am on March 12. The following is the name of the sims, their sponsors and builders (parentheses indicate the artist’s name is not part of the sim name but have been included for clarification):

Ansel Adams, sponsored by Designing Nicky Ree and built by Frederick Lancaster

(Julius) Shulman, sponsored by WoE and built by Nigel Riel

(Alfred) Stieglitz, sponsored by House of RFyre and built by Grace Loudon

(Helmut) Newton, sponsored by KMadd Enterprises/MADesigns and built by Raven Haalan

(Richard) Avedon, sponsored by Bliss Couture and built by Cierra Anatine

(Margaret) Bourke White, sponsored by [Elikatira] and built by Syngen Sohmers

(Diane) Arbus, sponsored by Evie’s Closet and built by Dream Resistance

Irving Penn, sponsored by LaPointe and Bastchild and built by Syngen Sohmers

(Robert) Mapplethorpe, sponsored by Falln Angels and built by Eshi Otawara